CLASSIFICATION OF FRUITS 
239 
Figure 227.— Dry 
Fruits. 
1. Beechnut. The seed 
is inclosed in the pericarp 
(.4), and the whole sur¬ 
rounded by the bur ( B), 
which was formed from 
the involucre. 
2. Acorn. C , cup formed 
from involucre; D , seed 
inclosed in pericarp. 
The adaptations of fleshy fruits are 
(1) a sour or bitter taste during de¬ 
velopment. This 
prevents their 
being eaten before 
the seeds are ma¬ 
ture. (2) Edibility 
when ripe. This 
insures their being 
eaten by some ani- 
mal, sometimes 
without the seeds, 
which are likely to 
be dropped some 
distance from the 
plant which pro¬ 
duced them; or 
seeds and all, in 
which case the un¬ 
digested seeds are 
passed off with other wastes, often 
very far from the parent plant. Cedar 
trees, wild fruit trees, blackberry bushes, and asparagus grow¬ 
ing by fences or in the crotches of trees show the effectiveness 
of this form of adaptation. 
In fleshy fruits, most of 
the modifications are associ¬ 
ated with the pericarp which 
develops in zones or layers. 
The group of fleshy fruits 
known as “ stone fruits ” or 
drupes has a thick fleshy 
outer portion (exocarp) 
which incloses the inner 
stony part (endocarp). 
Figure 229. — Akene 
of Dandelion. 
A , pappus ; B, fruit. 
Figure 228. — Vertical Section of 
Peach, a Drupe. 
Note the stone in the center in 
which the seed is inclosed. The 
white fibers are vascular bundles. 
